The La Cañada Flintridge City Council heard concerns from residents and neighborhood watch members about a spike in residential burglaries, and Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station Capt. Robert Hahnlein provided an update to the community on initiatives to reduce crime.
For the month of October, the Sheriff’s Station reported 10 residential burglaries, and residents who spoke at the Dec. 5 meeting requested more patrols in LCF.
Thirty-five-year LCF resident Lisa Walker is a neighborhood watch member for her street, which has seen a “significant number of burglaries happening in that area I am living in. Granted, there is a lot of construction there.”
Walker said that the station should be patrolling throughout all hours of the day, and not just at night, since the burglaries are “happening during the middle of the day and early in the morning and all times during the day.”
Cydney Motia has been a neighborhood watch captain for her street for 12 years and said the increase has been alarming.
“The reason I’m here is because a lot of other neighborhood watch captains, including myself, are very concerned about the uptick in burglaries,” Motia said.
“I know that the city will request patrols temporarily when there’s upticks,” Motia added. “But I think we meet need more on a regular basis.”
Motia also asked for more support in promoting the neighborhood watch groups.
“A lot of residents are hesitant, and there are streets that are getting hit over and over,” Motia said. “There are a lot of streets that need [neighborhood watch] groups.”
Resident Marybeth Rehman-Dittu said that the Sheriff’s Station said to take precautions like locking doors, having property well-lit and installing cameras, but Rehman-Dittu said that her and her neighbors have already done that.
“We don’t expect the sheriffs to do everything,” she added. “We need to take part. That’s why we’re all here as community volunteers. We as citizens have done everything we possibly can to protect ourselves and our families. However, at this juncture, we are now turning to the city’s leaders to do their part.”
Hahnlein reiterated the station’s support for the neighborhood watch groups.
“I’ve collaborated with the city, and we’ve got 20 extra patrol cars that are going to go out in December in random hours, trying to mimic when most of the burglaries occur,” said Hahnlein.
He went on to report stats for residential burglaries, with 13 in November and so far two in December.
“However, [residential burglaries] are 28% less than the same time last year,” he said. “So, we are lower, but it’s still not enough. I’m committed to the community and to the neighborhoods to try to get more patrols out there.”
Hahnlein said he is still an advocate for cameras and motion sensor lights, among other things to keep homes safe from burglaries.
“Look around your neighborhood, if you see something, say something, we have no problem going out there,” said Hahnlein.
Mayor Rick Gunter said he appreciated the extra effort from the station.
“No level of burglary is acceptable,” said Gunter. “The goal is zero, and the goal is figuring out how we can get close to that.”
Hahnlein shared some common criminal activity and behavior that they have encountered in the city.
“Based on the evidence that we collected, the same M.O. applies, in which the suspects are always going to the back of the house, and that’s the house that’s least protected,” said Hahnlein. “They usually break in the back door or a sliding glass door and automatically go to the master bedroom to look for jewelry, guns and safes that [they] can carry out.”
Hahnlein also offered some other tips for residents like making sure not to leave cameras hanging low for suspects to take and damage, and maybe investing in a barking dog motion sensor or TV illusion device.
Residents should “create an illusion that someone’s at home,” said Hahnlein. “At least do that and tell your neighbors you are leaving for a week or so.”
“I am committed to this community,” he added. “I grew up in La Crescenta. I know La Cañada very well. So, I want to make sure that we can do everything we can.”
Jennifer Burghdorf, the city’s public safety coordinator, also shared an update with the Council. She said that the city has budgeted for four additional Flock Safety cameras, and they have just finalized where they will be placed.
The new security camera rebate program has also gained traction with 18 applications approved and 19 being processed.
“Burghdorf brings a huge amount of expertise, and there’s nothing she doesn’t know about planning and preparation, and dedication and commitment,” said Gunter of the public safety coordinator, who is a U.S. Air Force veteran. “We couldn’t be happier that she’s helping us make sure our community remains a safe place.”
City Manager Daniel Jordan spoke on behalf of the city and its efforts to keep residents safe.
“I just want to make sure all the residents know that the City Council budgets specifically for incidents of upticks in crime like this,” said Jordan. “We have plenty of resources in our budget, and we are utilizing that to the full extent that we can right now. We are literally flooding the system. So, believe me, if you ever get the idea that the city is saying the same things over and over again, we’re not. We care. I’ve been burglarized. I live in southwest Pasadena. My 14-year-old son was there. I get it. We get it. So we’re doing everything we can.”
First published in the December 14 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
